


An Oral History of the Great War

by Emperor_Blackadder



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: 100 Year War (Avatar TV), Canon Compliant, Canon Expansion, Gen, In-Universe Narrative, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25386991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emperor_Blackadder/pseuds/Emperor_Blackadder
Summary: The Great War raged for a Hundred Years, dragging the Four Nations into a War with no end in sight. And now that Balance has once again been restored to the world, the stories of those who have fought in the greatest conflict the world has ever seen are being told by those who are left in the wake of Victory.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Introductions and Acknowledgements

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: ATLA is not mine. If it was, [INSERT SHIP] would be canon. More details on the story below.

The War went by many names. The Great War, the Firestorm, the Bleeding of the Earth, Sozin’s Tsunami, but we who live at the end of this century of war now know it as the Hundred Year War. It is unknown how many have died from the conflict, and we will likely never will. It lasted for so long and claimed so many lives that we cannot begin to take on the momentous task of counting the dead, for they are long buried, either at the hands of soldiers, or from some other symptom of War such as famine, disease, or poor healthcare. It is ironic that Fire Lord Sozin, who began the war by declaring that it was the duty of the Fire Nation to spread the wealth it had accrued from technological and social progress, have caused the deaths of so many by the very ills that his nation had eliminated in their quest for prosperity and civilization. 

Nevertheless, it is not the work of this book to count the costs of the war, but to recount the stories lost to the mists of time. The historical records from the surviving three nations, while relevant in the continuing work of telling the big picture of the war; the daily troop movements, territorial losses, and battle plans fail to tell the stories of those people who fought, fled, and subsisted through the war. The common soldier fighting for his country, the refugees fleeing their burning villages, and those who were simply trying to get by and lay low. To those who seek to know of the war, I suggest Historian Feng Lao’s “Six Hundred Days in Ba Sing Se” or Kuzon’s “Fire Navy: A History.” But to those who seek to understand the war, I implore you to stay.

Unfortunately, a war that lasted for a century does not belie the survival of stories that happened during its beginning. However, despite great difficulty, I was able to procure many documents that were able to fill the gaps created by time. These documents ranged from documents stored in official archives to diaries that I was able to procure from the descendants of the long-dead casualties. As we approached the chronological end of the War, however, I was fortunate enough to track down actual living sources who were able to tell their own perspectives. It is astounding to me how so many can recall with such perfect clarity these experiences. Those scars are the same ones this book sets out to preserve, so that we may better understand.

When I suggested to my boss in the Harmony Restoration Movement’s Council for Historical Preservation that we undertake the creation of such a document like this one, he laughed me off. He said to me with little regard for my sentiments, “The work of the council is to tell history, not to tell stories.” He was later replaced for incompetence. His successor was little better but perhaps less blunt, suggesting instead that I wrote my own book instead, and that I would receive their support as long as I continued to do my original job for the Council. I insisted that we should at least take these stories into the official account but she did not relent, so I agreed to her proposal. Her support, along with the support of the Council and thus the Harmony Restoration Movement by extension, was invaluable and I have nothing but thanks for them.

I would also like to acknowledge my colleagues. Never in my life did I think that a non-bending former warrior of the Northern Water Tribe such as myself would become a historian, much less work with so many people from so many walks of life. Historians were of little value in a world that was at war unless you worked for the military, and even their job was mostly relegated to propagandizing and instructing the youth to join the war effort. In a world at peace, so many seemed to come out of the woodwork. I met a Shaman from my brethren in the Southern Water Tribe, an Earth Kingdom scholar who somehow managed to survive imprisonment by the Dai Li, a playwright who wrote the acclaimed play about the adventures of Avatar Aang and more than a few retired Fire Nation officers. I even had the honor of meeting the Avatar myself, who had more than a few things to say to my playwright colleague and even more things to say about his long-gone culture.

But the people who deserve the most credit to the completion of this work were the people who accompanied me in my journeys. Numerous translators from the three nations, a Fire Sage who generously translated several ancient Air Nomad tomes and documents, My good friend Bei of the Earth Kingdom who generously donated the services of his Ostrich-Horse Renting Company during my travels in his country, my friend Hadalaq who took me on as a member of his merchant ship’s crew as I traveled the Oceans, and lastly my wife Uza, who I met during my research trip to the Fire Nation. Her unrelenting support, even during my absences, has been invaluable to me and I believe in the quality of this book as well.

Lastly, I would like to give a solemn appreciation to the people who have given up everything, for many their lives, to the restoration of Balance to the world. While many still debate what balance means, whether it be victory through revenge, or going back to the old ways of the world, we should never forget their sacrifice. When the Avatar and his friends came to the Northern Water Tribe, they were followed by the Fire Nation who brought death and destruction to my home. I had nothing but hatred in my heart for those soldiers who killed our princess, many of my comrades, and nearly exterminated our brethren in the south. Much of that hatred was directed at their people as well. Now, I am married to one. Perhaps that is what Harmony looks like.

As a disclaimer, I must add that this book, from its very conception, was envisioned to be a raw, undiluted take on the war’s history. As such, the biases, preconceptions, and prejudices of those featured in this book remain, though annotated in some parts for the sake of not misleading the reader. I ask that the reader refrain from judging these individuals, but rather acknowledge their actions and flaws as products of their time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic was inspired by the novel World War Z by Max Brooks which I recommend anyone to read or even better, listen to on Audible (not sponsored sadly, just a fan). As such it's going to take the form of a series of interviews and recovered documents of minor and original characters throughout the history of the Hundred Year War. There will be some characters from the show (can't wait to write the Cabbage Man's chapter) but most will be OCs. The story will essentially be a series of vignettes that attempt to capture the individual experiences of the people who lived through the War.
> 
> I welcome any comments and critiques that you may have on my writing. I'm not a terribly prolific author so most of my chapters are quite short, some of you may enjoy that, some of you may not. Nevertheless, I hope that all of you can enjoy reading this figment of my imagination.
> 
> Til next time :)


	2. Chapter I, Zuko Li

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Diary from a long-dead soldier recounts the Genocide of the Air Nomads and the opening shots of the War.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for graphic descriptions of violence.

**Chapter I: Opening Fires**

**Royal Caldera City, Fire Nation**

_[Under the reign of Fire Lord Sozin, the Fire Nation National Archives had been restricted from the public. Only high-ranking military officials, the Fire Sages who maintained and acted as librarians to the archives, and the Fire Lord themselves were permitted entry. This was changed shortly after the accession of Fire Lord Zuko to the throne who reopened it to the public in order to undo the damage his family had done to true historical knowledge in favor of patriotic propaganda. Still, many parts of the archives remain restricted to those without proper clearance, which was gracefully extended to me as soon as I had identified myself as a historian for the Harmony Restoration Movement. I was guided by a Fire Sage who, when I inquired to any documentation regarding the Air Nomad Genocide, grimaced and showed me to a dust-covered room, hardly bigger than a closet, where those documents resided. It was here that I retrieved the following diary. These entries were selected for their relevance.]_

**Diary of Lieutenant Zuko Li**

**Entry 38, Year 55 of Sozin’s Reign**

It’s been a while since I visited this diary. I’ve been so busy these past few months preparing my men for the upcoming operation. Operation Whirlwind they called it, said it would be the official start of the war against the Earth Kingdom and the start of our great experiment to bring the prosperity our own country has enjoyed. The higher-ups assured us we would be home by Year’s end. The Dirt Kingdom is weak and disunited, so unlike our proud nation, I have every confidence that they are right, but for now, the preparations continue. The same operation would coincide with the arrival of The Great Comet, seen only once in a hundred years that would give the power of a hundred suns to even the weakest firebender.

Some part of me sympathizes with the soldiers we will be facing in only a few months' time. I have met some of the people of the Earth Kingdom when I was stationed in the Colonies, garrisoning Yu Dao. The people there are so different from us, steadfast and headstrong. It was a wonder why they would allow themselves and their land to be subjugated by us. But they are people, different but like us in many ways. 

The soldiers will be defending their lands and I can admire them for that at the very least. I have no sympathies for the many who will retreat when faced by our boundless forces, but they who stand their ground will know the honor of sacrifice to one’s homeland. But as our Fire Lord says in every speech he holds, they are still weaker than us. To extend a helping hand to these poor savages will be the greatest service our nation can give to the world, greater than any treasonous Avatar could. If only they could see reason, perhaps the war would not be necessary. But savages will be savages I suppose.

In the meantime, I must train my men. They are disciplined and eager but lack experience. Some of them haven’t even had the requisite tour that most troops have had in the Colonies. It seems that whatever this plan entails, the higher-ups are throwing everything we got at them, short of the Fire Lord himself. It’s not the firebenders who I worry for however but the non-bending men. It’s one thing to be an inexperienced firebender, but to be an inexperienced nonbender is to be boulder fodder. I’ll have to focus my attention on them. With the Comet’s aid, the firebenders will do fine regardless.

**Entry 42, Year 56 of Sozin’s Reign**

Our superiors finally gave a full briefing to the junior officers as to what Operation Whirlwind truly entails. As it turns out, the rumor mill was wrong (what a shock). It was never directed at the Earthbenders as we were led to believe. Rather, the operation would be one against the Air Nomads, striking at all four of their temples at once. I balk at the objective that we were given. Not from any fear of the airbenders, they were pacifist monks who wouldn’t lift a finger against a fly, they would be little more than a nuisance to take care of. I balk at what we had to do to “take care” of them.

After Avatar Roku’s death, the Avatar cycle would continue and its spirit reincarnated into the Air Nomads. It’s been twelve years since Roku’s death and no one has seen or heard anything about the new Avatar. By now, they would be on the cusp of adulthood. Killing children is distasteful and dishonorable, but perhaps necessary in this case. With the Avatar on their side, this war would end before it even began, even if they were only twelve. It would be a crime, but it would be for the greater good. “But what to do with the Air Nomads?” I asked General Zhong. His answer was simple and it chilled me to my bones. “We kill them all” he said, unflinching. All of us were in shock, naturally for different reasons.

At dinner, me and a few of my friends gathered in the Officer’s Mess to discuss the briefing. We were tasked with briefing our own men tomorrow morning, when the division will embark and set sail for the Southern Air Temple. Chan said what I hadn’t dared to say until that meal, that killing the Avatar was one thing but killing an entire people? An entire culture? That was a crime that would make the horrors of the past feel like mere slights in comparison. It had never been done before, never even been attempted… shouldn’t be attempted. Ro thought otherwise. He said that every great Empire was built upon sins, sins that would bloom into virtues as time passed. That the things we do now, which today may be judged as crimes, would later be celebrated by our descendants. The Air Nomads probably won’t even put up a fight, a culture like that would never be able to thrive in a thousand years as the Fire Nation has in only a century. It was a mercy.

That left an ashen taste in my mouth. I reasoned though that since the Air Nomads were pacifist, they might even surrender without us having to fire a single blast at them. That they would willingly subjugate themselves to occupation by the Fire Nation. As such we could use them to further our conquests faster than if we were on our own. Thankfully that managed to shut Ro up, but I don’t know if I believe it myself.

The Air Nomads were different from us. They were not tied to the land, venturing to places unknown to their heart's content. I’m not even sure they lived on land for all the rumors I’ve heard about them. They were lazy and since they lived only in temples, they would never improve their condition. So concerned with their spirits that they would ignore the material, comfortable in the sky or in their temples. But that didn’t mean they all deserved to die.

I cannot sleep, my mind racing at the thought of the exhilaration of combat but the eagerness I had on our planned ventures are dissipating. If this is what it takes for the Fire Nation to help the world, perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to turn our plowshares into swords. These thoughts are borderline treasonous however, and I need to keep them to myself. I can’t bring this diary on the ship, it has to stay here where prying eyes won’t betray them. I only hope that the Air Nomads really would surrender, perhaps even turning in the Avatar when faced with their death as a people. We all could only hope.

**[ENTRY UNREADABLE]**

**Entry 44, 1 AG**

Eighty thousand soldiers were dispatched to the Southern Air Temple. Twelve thousand made it back home. When we returned home, the Generals had glee in their eyes at our success, conveniently forgetting that many of their own had been slaughtered as well. The conquests can go on, the Earth Kingdom would be subjugated and brought into the fold and next came the Water Tribes.

Fuck it all.

_[A few paragraphs after this line were scratched away]_

When the Comet came, we struck at the Southern Air Temple. They said the Temple was reachable only by Sky Bison. We had been climbing for the better part of a day, camouflaged by the clouds. The Comet was high in the sky, streaking in a burst of light that could’ve blinded anyone staring directly at it. It made me feel powerful, like I could take down a whole army by myself if given the chance. The energy coursed through me, just begging to be released. When we reached the Temple proper, I did. We all did.

I still remember the exact face the first monk I saw had when he saw us, an entire Fire Nation Army, at his doorstep. It was fear, the same fear I saw on my father’s face when he brought me hunting that damned day and had somehow managed to be gutted by a Moose-Lion. Confusion, panic. I expected him to run, or to beg for mercy. That was what we had been told. The Air Nomads were cowards, they had nothing to defend and the solution to all conflicts to them was to simply run away. Like a lot of other things we’ve been told about other countries, and even about our own nation, it was a damned lie. He stood his ground and fought us for all of two seconds, blowing away Chan and Ro from the cliffside and onto the ground far below. He would’ve done the same thing for me if we hadn’t burned him into a crisp with a single volley.

By now I’ve gotten familiar with the smell of burning human flesh. I’ve had enough experiences with that smell for several lifetimes now but by then it was something unfamiliar to me and would’ve made me retched then and there if it wasn’t for the adrenaline. With a great cry, we charged into the temple, more and more monks materializing out of seemingly nowhere, blowing many of my comrades away just like Chan and Ro. By the time we got into the temple’s interior, when they couldn’t use that trick, they would blow gusts of wind at us so terrible that it knocked us off our feet. Still, we kept fighting. The Avatar was here and they needed to be found, maybe then the madness would end and they would surrender.

I saw a man get eviscerated by wind. I mean _eviscerated_. His armor blown away by the sheer force of air thrown at him, followed shortly by the skin on his back. Saw that a couple more times too. I never knew wind could hurt, I never knew that air could be bended so that it could be used like throwing knives. We were told the monks were pacifists. For pacifists, they certainly had a lot of very lethal ways to hurt people. 

The Air temple’s exterior was largely abandoned when they realized we were there, most of them running inside the temple with only a few monks past their prime to delay our advance even by a few minutes. It wasn’t enough. There were a few dozen of them and tens of thousands of us. Still, I think a thousand of us died on the Temple grounds before we even reached the interior of the temple. We wished we bombarded the interior into oblivion instead of actually entering it but we didn’t have the time for that. We couldn’t let the Avatar get away. So we marched in, a few dozen at a time since most of the entrances could only be opened by airbending and that was a non-starter. We had to send in wave after wave of men, the first of whom were all non-benders, to test their defenses. It worked to say the least.

When we cleared the first floor they blocked us in the staircases. When we cleared those they fought us on every single floor until we reached the top. I was about to join the latest wave of troops we were sending upstairs when Captain Jiang told me to gather as many firebenders as I could and follow him. He led us to a room which had an entrance blocked by the bodies of our comrades. We marched on them only to discover why Jiang had told us to go there.

There was a single monk in the corner, behind him were crying, cowering boys, some younger than Jiang’s son. In contrast to the pupils he was protecting from us, the man was serene. He simply looked at us as we approached, readying himself to strike. I’m glad they gave firebenders the masks because I didn’t want him to see the unadulterated fear on my face. There were no other monks in this room, he had taken out dozens of soldiers by himself. I didn’t want to die.

Jiang was the first to go, barely able to blast before he was swept aside and hit head first onto the stone wall with a sickening thump. The next soldier in the line was blown onto the roof, landing on the floor only a moment later. We trampled over him to get into position to strike. I sent a sweltering blast of fire with my fists that he dissipated, he would’ve killed me if three other blasts weren’t directed at him at the same time and then another volley came. He took down three more of us until we managed to finally subdue him. He hurriedly told the boys to run but there was nowhere to go. The only entrance now worked in our favor. One of the soldiers sent a fireball at his fallen form. I don’t know if he was killed instantly or he simply didn’t scream as he burned alive.

The boys looked at us with a cocktail of emotions I don’t want to contemplate. They all look scared though. Jiang had told us that the Avatar was a boy of twelve and that we were to kill any airbending student we could find. I couldn’t see the other soldier’s expressions. Once again I was glad for the mask. If any of them had anything other than apprehension on their face, I would’ve turned traitor right then and there. But still, we were soldiers of the Fire Nation, and if we refused to carry out our orders, we would be hunted down and someone else would do the job anyways. I wish I could tell you that I did just that.

We made it quick, at least we tried to.

_[This was the final entry of the Diary. Personnel files recovered from the Ministry of Defense (formerly War) indicate that Lieutenant Zuko Li was declared Missing in Action two years after Operation Whirlwind. His next of kin was a brother that died while fighting in the Western Earth Kingdom in 12 AG. There are no known family members of his left.]_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it was an entertaining read. I'm a dreadfully slow writer at times since I get easily distracted (mostly with games) but I'll try to add at least two more chapters before the end of the week. Til next time :)


	3. Chapter I, Jyn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A proud citizen of the Fire Nation colonies tells the interviewer of her grandmother's story, from Ember Island merchant's daughter to Han Tui Restauranteur.

**_Han Tui, Fire Nation Colonies in the Western Earth Kingdom_ **

_ [You couldn't tell by looking at it but the Port City of Han Tui was once the site of one of Fire Lord Sozin's greatest victories in his early conquest of the Earth Kingdom. Now a bustling hub of trade rivaled only by Yu Dao farther to the North, most of the scars of war were relegated to the Old Quarter, where much of the city's predominantly Earth Kingdom working-class lives. It was here that I met Jyn Fire. Although a strange surname by Fire Nation standards, many residents of the Colonies who originated from the Earth Kingdom had decided to change their surnames to something that would be more palatable to Fire Nation standards in order to fit in. There were many Fires and Dragons and Suns. The matronly woman had reached out to me, stating that she had some documents that could prove useful for my research and wished to tell her own family's story. She led me to her home, a small apartment where her and her husband live as empty nesters. It was a humble abode and like most Old Quarter architecture it was distinctly Earth Kingdom. The picture of Fire Lord Zuko above the hearth was the only difference it had to an apartment in Ba Sing Se.] _

My grandmother was a Fire Nation soldier. I know, what a rarity. I hardly know anyone who lives here that doesn’t have any Fire Nation ancestor. The more you have, the bigger the chance you can move into the New Quarter honestly. It can be unfair sometimes but I love the Fire Nation. I’ve never been to the Homeland but it is my home and my grandparents and my parents never failed to teach me the importance of loyalty to one’s country. It was the only thing separating us from those barbarians who raid their own countrymen for fun and profit. I’ve seen the faces of those refugees who come to our city so they can escape those very same people. If you have no loyalty to your nation, then your loyalty can only be to yourself. That’s why I don’t necessarily approve of the Harmony Restoration Movement.

[She looks away before smiling at me]

Present company excluded of course. I may not approve of who you work for but your work is important. It’s high time that the world hears our stories, I’m only lucky enough to be speaking to you because my cousin works for that Ostrich-Horse company. But I suppose that conversation is for another day. After all, we’re here to talk about my grandmother. 

[I nodded, slightly flustered at the woman’s kindness]

My grandmother enlisted in the regular army, back when women were still allowed to join the Regular Army. She was the fifth child out of five and there wasn’t a chance of her getting the already meagre inheritance. Her family back on Ember Island were merchants and not very successful ones at that. She knew how to fight though, always having to defend her honor from boys leering at her and she took to army life like a turtle-duck in water. She loved her time in service, but most of all she loved serving her nation. Fire Lord Sozin reigned for so long that he was the only one she knew and she loved him like everyone else did. Of course people these days may not take too kindly to him now but back then, there wasn’t a more perfect being than the Great Sozin, Defender of His People. When the chance came for him to lead our people to victory with the Comet’s arrival, of course she volunteered to be a part of the invasion force. She was denied the first time but the second time, after the End of the Air Nomads, she was approved, leaving her garrison with other volunteers before ending up here, as part of the Han Tui Invasion Fleet.

It was an amazing victory for our nation. Fire Lord Sozin himself rode in on his dragon and led the troops as they marched in to take the City. She was among the platoon of soldiers who raised the Fire Nation flag over the city, the proudest moment of her life, she said.

_ [I asked her if her family on the Earth Kingdom side had lost any members when the army set the city ablaze. She ignored my question] _

After the victory, her unit was tasked with garrisoning the city to keep the peace. Large parts of it had burned down during the battle and crime and unrest were everywhere. It was here that she met my grandfather. A greater love there is none, except perhaps for Oma and Shu. Times were tough back then, but even if they came from two different nations, they knew they were stronger together then they were apart, just like the Colonies now that I think about it!

Together they started a restaurant which we still run to this day! A fusion of Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation cuisine. You should try our spiced pork dumpling, even noblemen from the New Quarter come all the time to try it…

_ [She began to talk at some lengths about some of the menu items at her restaurant which she politely asked me to name. Lee and Lo’s Colonial Kitchen, if the reader is interested. Their spiced pork dumpling is indeed quite scrumptious. However I had to interrupt her eventually as the conversation had taken a turn to discussing Fire Nation-Earth Kingdom fusion cuisine] _

Oh right, sorry, where was I? Right the occupation! As I mentioned, times were tough back then, and not just in the city but outside of it too. While the city itself had been captured from the Earth Kingdom, the hinterlands surrounding it were still within their hands. It got so rough that there were rice riots in Main Street. Those rioters didn’t realize they were biting the hand that was literally feeding them, since the Fire Nation was importing rice from the homeland at great expense in order to keep the people fed. Sure there were rations but those were a necessity. The real criminals there were the Earth Kingdom soldiers holding the city hostage. Eventually order was restored but unfortunately that wasn’t the end of the troubles.

Famine was bad enough, but imagine a plague! As it turns out, some rats had stowed away aboard the ships importing rice from the homeland and they had brought the Ash Plague. It’s long gone now thanks to Fire Lord Azulon’s programs but back then it killed most of the people who got it. Half the city was infected and people were blaming it on the rice! Can you believe the nerve of those people. Even as Fire Nation medicine was staving off the worst of the plague they still had the nerve to complain, without that medicine, no one in this city would have any Earth Kingdom ancestors I guarantee that much. Still, it was so courageous what my grandmother did for my grandfather. He had fallen into the wrong crowd you see, and since he was in hard times himself he didn’t have much of a choice. So my grandmother did the only thing she could to save him from life as street scum, she married him! Back then, marriage between Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom folks weren’t very common, even disapproved of by some but they wouldn’t have any of it. I don’t know what would have happened if my grandmother didn’t take my grandfather in, I probably wouldn’t be standing here talking to you right now!

_ [She laughs before slowly falling silent, seemingly remembering the rest of her grandmother’s story] _

Half the city died during the plague months after it had infected pretty much everyone in the city and burned out in the process. My grandmother even caught it herself, so did many of her comrades but she survived it, thank the spirits. But once the plague was over, the settlers from the homeland came in. Most of them were men, I suspect to encourage mixing between the city’s people, and they brought with them tools and money to rebuild the city. They built the New Quarter since the Old Quarter had become so dilapidated after a year of rioting and disasters, one after the other. It simply wasn’t fit to live. My grandparents chose to stay here however. By this point my grandmother had resigned from the army to start a family and they had made many friends and connections in this part of the city, at the time they were planning to start the restaurant with the easy loans the government gave settlers and land was cheaper here.

Give or take a couple generations, here I am today. Most of my brothers left to fight in the war, the ones who came back are off in the homeland, enjoying their retirement. I wish I can join them sometimes… but my place is here. I know I can better serve my country here, short of joining the army of course.

_ [She laughs at that] _

Especially now that the Restorationists, usurpers really, want to take us away from our homes. But as long as there’s a drop of Fire Nation blood in my body I won’t let them take what’s ours. We built it and they want to steal it. As long as Fire Lord Zuko’s still on the throne however, I don’t think any harm is going to come to us. He’ll protect us.

_ [She smiles at herself. I couldn’t think of a reply.] _

I insist you stay for dinner sir, another thing my grandmother taught me is how to treat my guests and that means good food!

_ [Later after Dinner, I asked her if I could search any of her grandparents’ belongings to which she kindly allowed me to. It was there that I found a picture of her grandfather, in the uniform of the Earth Kingdom army. After asking a few uncomfortable questions which she had short answers to, I politely took my leave.] _


	4. Chapter I, Fei Yan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last veteran of the first decade of the Hundred Year War speaks his truth.

_ [At 114, Fei Yan was the oldest resident of Guoyan Veteran’s Home, itself the oldest veteran’s residence in the Earth Kingdom, built in the reign of Earth King Kuei’s Grandfather after the Bonus Riots of 4 AG. The small villa had been appropriated from one of the monarchy’s many estates in Outer Ba Sing Se and was well maintained, with an Apple Orchard which the residents cultivated, despite mentions of budget cuts by the staff due to the escalating conflict over the Fire Nation Colonies. I met Fei Yan at the same orchard, playing Pai Sho with what looked to be a team of veterans, each taking turns playing against him. At my arrival, Fei Yan politely dismissed them and asked me to sit. When I asked him his secret to a long life, he simply shook his head and smiled, a knowing twinkle in his eye.] _

When I heard of the Council, I received many messages from people who have heard of who I was. I’ve become quite famous around the country apparently, being the oldest veteran alive and all. I refused all of them, I’m an old man and I wanted to be at peace, I don’t see what they could get out of someone like me. But when I heard about your project, all the other people you’ve met, I figured I could spin a yarn and tell you my story. I’m an old man and I feel the spirit world’s call and for the first time since I was a very young boy, the world is at peace. I don’t want my great-grandchildren to lose the same chance I lost to live in a world where we didn’t have to kill. That’s why I feel like the world may need to hear my story.

I first came here when I was 22. I had just lost my left arm then, the muscles burned off by a firebender. I had already been in the army for 6 years. We were so desperate for soldiers back then that they let me enlist when I was 14 but even they saw no benefit in keeping a cripple on their payroll. It was a few years past the Bonus Riots, after all the veterans who had been let go almost stormed right through the Dai Li and into the Royal Palace. That woke the King up to what was going on with his people and so he gave us this villa. It was crowded back then. More of our soldiers were actually trained to fight and the ash-makers were still learning how to fight us so more of us actually came back from the front. 

I remembered how I felt stepping through these doors. I was furious, not sure at who honestly. I thought I was angry at the Fire Nation and I guess I was, everyone was... but with the benefit of hindsight, I now realized that I was really angry at myself. I let this happen to me. My comrades were off fighting in the War while I was here to languish in what I saw as a prison. Nobody likes to see a cripple, let alone a crippled veteran. ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ after all. If you don’t have to see the War’s victims, you don’t have to think about the War and the people of Ba Sing Se didn’t want to think. Some things never change I suppose.

_ [He pauses, contemplating the Pai Sho board, before moving the White Lotus piece] _

There were one hundred and fifty of us originally. Most were a bit on the older side and all of us had lost something or someone to the Fire Nation. No earthbenders though, if you couldn’t lift a rock with your mind anymore, you were to teach. Shame really, we could’ve used someone who knows how to earthbend because the villa was in dire straits. Do you really think the King would give one of the villas that he liked? This one hadn’t been used in ages and everything was hanging by a thread. We couldn’t even sleep inside the main building, it was too rotten and it was too dangerous. I was staying in the outer city before I went here, doing odd jobs and living in cramped hostels so all the fresh air was technically an improvement but at least my bed wasn’t dirt back in the city.

_ [He chuckles] _

We had to do the repairs ourselves. The staff tried to help but most of them were doctors and nurses, a couple of therapists, not exactly very helpful with construction work with all due respect. The stipend provided to us was just enough to buy up the materials we needed: wood, flooring, paint, nails, you name it. Once we finished repairing it we had to sleep on the floor because we couldn’t afford beds. The staff chipped in to buy us some futons. They were good people, they didn’t have to take care of us like they did but they went above and beyond, truly. The medical doctors and nurses were a great help, a lot of us had chronic medical conditions, some pre-existing, most we got while fighting the ash-makers. I still held out some hope that my arm could be fixed but no such luck. I made my peace with it now, but back then I couldn’t get over the fact that I was a cripple. The young ones like myself, the ones who could still fight if it wasn’t for this and that, we were all angry. The older people had made peace with their lot in life, I suppose some of them might even enjoy taking a respite from the world. I’m one of those old people now son, but back then I was as furious with them as I was with myself. When they finally got tired of me, they asked me to leave, so I did.

I tried to re-enlist but they wouldn’t have a cripple join the army. They told me to go back to my village if I didn’t like the veteran’s home. The only reason I haven’t was because my village was gone, burned down by the ash-makers, I had no idea where my family was and I never found out. So I left Ba Sing Se and struck out on my own, figured I could go to Yu Dao or some of the Fire Nation colonies, not because I had any love of them of course not, instead I figured there were a lot of people in the colonies who were as angry as I am, they just needed someone to wake them up, make them retake what’s theirs.

I traveled with a group of mercenaries going north, offering my services as a cook. They said no but since I wouldn’t stop pestering them, they just gave up and let me. They could’ve beaten me up at any time but I guess even mercenaries don’t have the heart to beat up a cripple. I’m a terrible cook by the way, but I know how to add salt and I know how to cook meat. Not very well mind you but the mercenaries didn’t want to do woman’s work so I was their man for the job. They paid me in rations and I didn’t mind since all I wanted to do was go north towards the colonies. We made it past the frontlines, somehow bypassed it entirely in fact. It was only later that we found out that the frontline had shifted a hundred miles to the direction I was coming from, but since we avoided roads and took to the forests and mountains, we never actually encountered any Fire Nation soldiers. If we did, pretty sure they would have left me, if only because they hated my cooking.

_ [He chuckles, taking a sip of his tea before he continued] _

Eventually, I parted with the mercenaries. They wouldn’t miss me and I certainly didn’t miss them but they got me where I was going to, sort of. I walked on the road alone, eventually meeting up with a group of travellers. They were a weird bunch, called themselves musicians but the only song they didn’t butcher was the one about Oma and Shu, I think it was “Secret Tunnel.” They treated me better than the mercenaries did at least, I offered my services to cook but after the first night they told me I didn’t have to do anything for them. Thankfully they were going to Yu Dao as well, saying they wanted to spread peace and love or something of the sort. In hindsight it doesn’t sound too bad but I was an angry young man with a chip on my shoulder. As soon as we arrived at Yu Dao’s gates we were accosted by the guards. They didn’t give me a second look though, for obvious reasons. I bade them farewell and they sang a song in my honor, the guards looked like they were going to kick us back out right then and there.

_ [He began absentmindedly humming the tune of ‘Secret Tunnel,’ plucking his white beard before making another move on the Pai Sho board] _

I started to walk around the city. It was the Fire Nation’s first colony in the country so it was much tidier and secure than Han Tui, or so I’ve heard. What first struck me about the place was actually how tidy it was. You wouldn’t be able to tell there was a war outside the city gates. In fact, I don’t think you could tell the city was even in the Earth Kingdom. I walked around a little bit, going in and out of inns and hostels to find a place I could afford with my meagre pension. Took me all the way to what I later found out was the bad part of town. Maybe when you reach the gates the street are full of red, soldiers, chittering women and what have you but in this part of town you couldn’t walk five feet before you trip on some poor soul. These were the people I was looking for; the poor, displaced and dispossessed. The people I was fighting for.

I found a hostel there, only one silver piece a night so it could last me for a while. I started asking around for work and I was just lucky enough to live close to a tavern that needed a barkeep. The last one died after being caught between a firebender and an earthbender fighting in the place. It was a no-benders allowed space after that which suited me just fine. The owner gave me a funny look when he saw my arm but once I told him my story he didn’t really mind. Said us ‘dirt peasants’ needed to stick together. He was a good man, if you discount the fighting and gambling ring he ran in the brewery downstairs but there are worse ways to make a living. I saw all manners of people while I was working in that den. I was a much better bartender than I was a cook and I was only expected to put out the drinks, take the money and try not to get killed. A pretty cushy job for the standards of a cripple, the alternative being beggar and that’s not much of a career path.

Working in that bar I saw the teeming masses of humanity, unwashed and having just finished a shift at the factory, dock, or what have you. Chatted up a lot of people and everyone had a story to tell. Sometimes it was a pretty lady contemplating the answer to her boyfriend’s proposal, sometimes it was a factory worker complaining about his ash-maker foreman, and sometimes... it was people reminiscing with the crippled former soldier about the good old days when our people weren’t slaves. That last one, I added to my group. We called ourselves… well we didn’t have a name. It’s poor form to leave a name that could be traced. For the first few months, we gathered intelligence, at least the kind that we could acquire from our lowly stations. Names of guards, especially the corrupt ones, plus their addresses and their loved ones’ addresses for good measure. Traitors too, there were too many of our own people willing to sell the rest of us out just to get a shot at being the ash-maker’s pet, or at least that was the way I saw it back then. So we jotted their name down too. Finally, we looked out for businesses that were too friendly with the Fire Nation or were owned by Fire Nation people. 

We didn’t have a plan, we just wanted to have a chance at making people see that they could be beaten. The people of Yu Dao and a lot of the older colonies at that point had lost their spirit and their will to fight. Maybe when Sozin first knocked on our door and we let him in, they still had fight left in them. But it had been decades since the first Fire Nation flag flew on our soil and over their homes. Imagine living like that for so long that your children don’t even know what it’s like to live like free people in their own country…

The people who I stuck with, most of them were either old timers that remembered what it was like to live in their own country or young people who had enough of being treated like the dirt off of an ash-maker’s boot. What we were planning was a revolution, but it had to start low and slow, or we would really be just dirt on a boot in the long run. The more sociable of us started fraternizing with the guards, taking them to taverns and then brothels and the like, getting black mail material. The ones more mischief minded sabotaged factory equipment if they had the chance. The ones who knew how to throw a punch, or at least act like they could, shook down those businesses we thought were being too cozy with the ash-makers. All the while I stayed behind the bar, chatting up saps who looked like they had a chip on their shoulder. 

I was the recruiter but I wasn’t really somebody who could take the lead on most things, being a cripple and all. We made decisions democratically at first, but eventually, things went sour when one of our own shook down the wrong store. It was a drug store run by an elderly couple from the Fire Nation who probably thought they could have a comfortable retirement in the colonies. Turns out, their grandson was that district’s guard captain and once he knew there were people coming into his family pharmacy shaking it down for money, he set up guards around it and ambushed the man who did it. Chilong was a fool, even if he was a brave one, but a fool nonetheless. He really should’ve quit when he was ahead. The authorities had a zero tolerance policy regarding dirt peasants harassing Fire Nation citizens and it was already personal to begin with. He was sentenced to be burned alive in the city center, in front of thousands of people. Chilong was one of our own, we couldn’t let that happen to him so we hatched a plan.

There was no way of getting into the city jail, so the only time we could rescue him was on the day of the execution itself. Our plan was to create a distraction outside the square that could distract the guards long enough for us to snatch Chilong and get him as far away from Yu Dao as humanly possible. The distraction would be in the form of a bomb, not meant to harm necessarily. We didn’t like the ash-makers but we didn’t want innocent blood on our hands. One thing to mug a man, another to murder him. So we had our resident chemist on the task. He wasn’t actually a chemist, but he had experience handling chemicals since he worked at a dyeworks so he was the best we got. All the materials we could find on our own so that was no problem. It would be louder than it would be harmful, we were trying to draw attention after all. At least that was how it was supposed to happen.

_ [For the first time during our meeting, Fei Yan grimaced, the twinkle in his eye gone. He closed his eyes, as if reliving the scene in his mind] _

The bomb exploded. But our bomb maker was an amateur and the mixture he had made turned out to have a lot of potency, but not the kind that we wanted. We planted it at an abandoned stall at the corner of the market on Main Street, again to minimize civilian casualties. It didn’t work the way we wanted it to. The fire soon overtook Main Street, the explosion itself killed many people but that was only the beginning. Since I couldn’t help with breaking Chilong out, I was tasked with creating another distraction if the bomb had failed or they needed more time. It wasn’t necessary.

Did you know that buildings in the Fire Nation are usually made of brick and mortar or even concrete? Did you know that buildings in the Earth Kingdom are usually made of wood, stone, or adobe? Yu Dao had been a colony for a few decades by this point but they couldn’t very well tear down every existing building, that would take too much work. So when you mix in a fiery explosion and a city full of wooden buildings, you have a recipe for a wildfire that would take a group of firebenders a whole day to stop, and by then there wouldn’t be much left to save. I didn’t have to create another distraction. After the bomb exploded, the fire was distraction enough. 

They got Chilong out, but after that no one wanted to speak to us. We were the only group resisting the Fire Nation at that point and we had killed so many of the people we supposedly wanted to free from bondage, so really there was no one else left to blame, even if it weren’t true. The Fire Army finally took notice of us, and uprooted us. They didn’t spare me a second look, I was as unassuming as they come, on top of being a cripple. They found Chilong again and didn’t waste any time. Then they find Shu, and Chin, and all the rest until I was the only one left alive and I was long gone, on my way back to Ba Sing Se. Alone this time. I didn’t much care what happened to me. It is a story for another time, how I managed to get back without dying. It would take too much time to tell, and I don’t have much time I’m afraid.

You asked me, before we began our conversation, what was my secret to long life? I do not know young man. I have been thankful for the time I have had on this Earth. I started a family, had beautiful children with a woman who cherished me as much as I cherished her. But for a hundred years, I have been living with the ghosts of my youthful mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes when they’re young, but their mistakes don’t tend to get innocent people killed. Mine did. I live with the knowledge of what burning flesh smells like, what the screams of a child to her burning mother sounds like. When I go to sleep, I see their faces. Taunting me from the endless dark, calling me to face them and join them.

I do not know if the Spirit World is a place of rest for all or of reward for the virtuous and punishment for the wicked. Perhaps there is no Spirit World at all and there is nothing but infinite black for all eternity. I am just a simple old man and I have lived for this long and yet the final mystery is something I have yet to discover an answer to. I am scared of finding out, to tell you the truth young man. But it is ironic that someone who’s been responsible for so many finding out too soon what the answer to the mystery is, would be so scared of finding out for himself.

_ [Fei Yan died peacefully in his sleep three days after this interview. He was survived by two grandchildren and three great grandchildren.] _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the late update. I've been heavily side-tracked by two fics that I highly recommend, which is Lost and Found by Tubendo and the Smoke Demons series by madamebomb. On a side note, I think I may have found my favorite crack ship. The next update will close the first section of the story and we'll move on to a new section titled "Home Fronts" which will go into deeper detail on the life of civilians back at home on every side, with a particular focus on refugees. Til next time :)

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic was inspired by World War Z by Max Brooks, a book I recommend anyone to read, or better yet, listen to, featuring an all-star cast and is now available on Audible (not sponsored sadly, just a fan). This story will only feature minor characters from the show as well as original characters. It's a canon compliant fic that I hope can expand on some of the parts of canon that remain unexplored.
> 
> Each story, in the format of an interview transcript, is (for the most part) self contained so think of it as a collection of one-shots. I'm not sure how long this fic will be but it will start from the beginning of the war all the way to its end.
> 
> I hope all of you enjoy the story, til next time :)


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